The Laurel Community Center Games Club has sessions every Thursday starting at 6 PM, lasting until 9 PM. The Community Center is located at 7901 Cypress Street, Laurel MD 20707. Phone: (301)-497-0300. The Laurel Community Center Games Club is affiliated with the Games Club of Maryland ("GCOM"), which has over 30 locations in Maryland and the surrounding states and the District of Columbia.

Contributors

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

A bit of a down week, attendance-wise, as some stormy weather may have had an impact. Nine gamers (Doug, Mike, Patrick, Eugene, Rembert, John W, Marie, Paul and myself) were present, and we got in a total of three games: This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Two to Four of Us, Bruges and Russian Railroads.

The warm-up game (the one with the long name) had been brought by Mike, and it was a quick tile-laying game (reminiscent of Carcassone but a bit shorter, four plays apiece). Somehow, I managed to come out the winner. Scores were John 10, Doug and Mike 5, Patrick 4.

We split into four groups for the rest of the session. One group played Bruges, which was won by Paul (63) one point ahead of Doug (62), Patrick (58) ahead of me (58) on the tiebreak followed by Marie (53). I believe it was the first play for both Paul and Marie.

Russian Railroads was a runaway win for Eugene, who is quite an expert at the game. Final scores were Eugene 407, Mike 262, John W 243 and Rembert 227.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Another good group 12 for this week's session: Mike, Eugene, Tim, Lina, Rembert, Ben, Marie (back for her third session), Neville (whom we haven't seen for awhile), Joseph (a first-time attendee), and the three Johns (John B, the other John W and myself) were the attendees. We had three tables going at once, games played were Risk, Concordia, Eggs and Empires, Camel Cup and TransAmerica.

Concordia was a five-player and ended in a three way tiebreaker! The ties were broken by reverse player order depending on who held the 2x production marker. Ben, Mike and Tim were the top three, all with 105. John B (92) and John W (91) brought up the rear.

Risk (which Marie brought) was another five-player. I was first one out, followed by Marie, but Joseph, Lina and Rembert did well enough to survive to the end of the session, so another three-way tie that did not get resolved as we ran out of time.

Neville and Eugene occupied the third table and played a couple of two-player games: Eggs and Empires, a quick-playing card game, which was one win apiece. Camel Cup was next, with Eugene winning over Neville by 54 to 43.

I joined Eugene and Neville for a couple of games of Eggs and Empires. Eugene won both. Game 1 scores: Eugene 31, John 21, Neville 18. Game 2: Eugene 48, Neville 23, yours truly 9.

I managed to bounce back with a strong performance in the final game of the evening, TransAmerica. The game only lasted two rounds, with Tim getting knocked off the chart. Final scores were myself 9, John B 8, John W 7, Eugene (best of the non-Johns) 3, Mike 2, Tim off the chart. A 1-2-3 finish for the three Johns, whoopee!

A reminder that the GCOM Family Picnic will be free to all GCOM Members, regardless of membership level. Check out the GCOM website (link to left of this page) and follow the links to "Family Picnic."

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Good attendance, a total of 15 this week. Patrick, Mike, Alex, Doug, Lina, Linda, Greg, Alec, Erin, Tim, Will, Rouslan, Rembert, Ron (a first-time attendee) and I were the attendees. This meant we got in quite a few games, including Cheeky Monkey, California Gold, Tash-Kalar, Power Grid: North America, Homsteaders and King of Tokyo. Details (if available) follow.

Cheeky Monkey was the warm-up game while waiting for more folks to show up. It was a five-player, won by Doug. Scores were Doug 31, Mike 22, Rouslan 19, myself 15, Alex 3. We then broke into three groups (which turned into four) for the rest of the session).

One group of five played California Gold. This game ended in a time between Linda (one of the new players) at Lina, each at 12. Once again, the money tiebreaker came into play, which meant Lina was the winner. I was third with 10, then Ron (the other new player) and Alex were at 9, and Ron had more money. Tough night for Alex, who is usually near the top instead of the bottom when reporting the scores.

Tash-Kalar was a four-player, with Will winning (with 6), Doug second (at 5). Although the scoresheet indicates they both won, so maybe it was a team game. Eri and Patrick (both at 0) were the other two players.

Power Grid: North America was played, another close four-player game. Greg emerged the winner with 17 cities and 15 left over for the money tiebreaker. Tim (17 with 7 money) and Alec (17 with 0 money) just missed out, while Mike overpaid for a powerplant and could only build to 16.

Rouslan and Rembert played Homesteaders, and Rouslan won, 36 to 28, it what seems to be a relatively low scoring game.

Those who finished up early got in one final game, King of Tokyo. It was six-player, and the game did not finish. Will (with 10 points) was ahead, but this may be misleading because he was low on health and bonus card abilities. Other players and scores at the time the game was picked up were Patrick (8), Erin (6), Doug and Rouslan (4), Rembert (2).

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

We had 12 in attendance for this week's session: Mike, Patrick, Lina, Tim, Doug, Rouslan, Rich (whom we haven't seen for awhile), Marie (back for a second week in a row), Erin, Rembert, Paul and myself were the attendees. Games played: Castles of Burgundy, California Gold, Stratego, Samurai and Lanterns. Scores and details follow.

Castles of Burgundy was a four-player, won by Rouslan. Scores were Rouslan 229, Doug 219, Mike 191, Tim 167.

California Gold was a five-player, and the game filled up the entire time slot. It ended in a tie, myself and Lina at 12 but I had more money and was therefore the winner. Others: Rich (9) third ahead of Erin (9) with more money, Patrick (8) was fifth and last.

I had trouble keeping track of what was happening on the third table. Marie and Rembert played a game of Stratego, which Marie had brought. Then Paul arrived and there was a three-player game of Samurai. Then there was a game of Lanterns, which I believe Rembert won by one point (46 to 45) over Paul.